The Gardens and Parks at Hampton Court Palace (ISBN 0711223688)

Five centuries of gardening. The gardens & parks of Hampton Court Palace:
A well organised and attractively produced book giving a scholarly account of the history of these magnificent and much loved Gardens. Hampton Court Palace is the finest of English Renaissance gardens and of great importance to any student of horticulture and garden or landscape history. The avenues and the venerable ancient trees of the parks along with the even older pruned and pleached trees of the formal gardens are among the treasures of the gardens. Along with the newly restored privy garden, the statuary and the architecture these are well illustrated with photos and drawings ancient and modern

A STUNNING JOURNAL OF GARDENS AND PARKS:
Todd Longstaffe-Gowan, Gardens Adviser to Hampton Court Palace and Vice Chairman of the London Historic Parks and Gardens Trust, and photographer Vivian Russell have combined their considerable talents to offer readers, most especially garden enthusiasts, a stunning journal of the gardens and parks at Hampton Court Palace. Not only is Hampton Court an historic landscape covering 2,000 acres, bounded on its south and east sides by the River Thames, it is also a site of great antiquity indicating that there were settlements in the site dating back to the Bronze Age. However the estate began to form very much as it is seen today in 1086. It was in 1514 that Hampton Court was leased by Cardinal Wolsey, until he became persona non grata at court and was forced to leave by Henry VIII. As soon as the estate was under his care Henry began a 20 year building, the like of which had not been seen. Since that time various royals have left their marks upon the estate as it has been used as a guest house. Queen Victoria declared that the palace "should be thrown open to all her subjects without restriction, and without fee or gratuity of any kind.." While this order was not deemed wise by many, the palace did become a popular vacation resort. The gardens were neglected during World War I, but by 1919 improvements were being overseen by a committee of horticultural and landscape garden experts. Since the early 1990s major restoration work has taken place within the palace which has been coordinated with landscape improvements. Today, the estate stands as a "great emblem and monument of English history," and attracts over a million visitors every year. Thanks to Longstaffe-Gowan and Russell for making it also available to armchair travelers. - Gail Cooke